Ambulances battle for Milton Township

Officials to consider proposal to switch emergency services.

Officials to consider proposal to switch emergency services.

November 23, 2005|LOU MUMFORD Tribune Staff Writer

With an annual budget of $2.4 million, it wouldn't seem the Niles-based Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service would miss the roughly $21,000 a year it receives from Milton Township. Guess again. "Last year, our net income (profit margin) was $24,000, so $21,000 would be a huge hit,'' said SMCAS Director Marlene Beach. And that hit may be just around the corner. On Tuesday night, Milton Township residents will gather at 7 p.m. at their township hall, 2576 Bertrand Road, to discuss whether to switch from SMCAS to the Edwardsburg Ambulance Service. EAS Administrator Frank Lemanski said it was Milton Township officials who asked him for a proposal to service the township. Considering the territory his service gave up after Battle Creek-based LifeCare Ambulance Service began operations in Cass County earlier this year, he was happy to oblige. "This (Milton Township) would certainly make up for what we recently lost,'' he said. Efforts to contact Milton Supervisor Timothy Whitfield were unsuccessful. However, minutes from the Oct. 17 Milton Township meeting, posted on the township's Web site, revealed that EAS has offered Milton a three-year contract at an annual cost of $20 per household. With 773 households, that breaks down to $15,460 a year, or some $5,500 less than SMCAS's contract. And, because SMCAS has boosted its household assessment for 2006, the difference would be about $11,500 next year. What's more, Lemanski said Milton Township would have two votes on the EAS Board, giving it the same representation as the village of Edwardsburg and Ontwa Township. With the response time of EAS and SMCAS roughly the same for Milton Township's most heavily populated west side area, and with EAS and SMCAS both offering advanced life support services, the odds would seem to be in Edwardsburg's favor. But SMCAS has serviced Milton Township for 25 years and is putting up a fight to retain it. Not only is it considering housing an ambulance and crew for daily 12-hour shifts in Milton Township -- the arrangement may be made with Buchanan Township as well, Beach said -- but it also is contemplating giving Milton Township a voice on the SMCAS Board. Beach said Milton's representative would be able to vote on matters pertaining to SMCAS operations. Votes related to the service's assets, she said, would still be limited to member municipalities (the cities of Niles and Buchanan and townships of Niles, Buchanan, Howard and Bertrand). Beach said the timing of the loss of Milton Township couldn't be worse, with Medicare on Jan. 1 implementing the final phase of its reduced payments for Medicare patients who receive ambulance service. Already, SMCAS receives only about 50 cents for every $1 charged to Medicare and only about 30 cents for every $1 charged to Medicaid, she said. The situation will worsen next year because Medicare will begin basing payments on patient needs, Beach said. In other words, she said, patients who need only basic services will have like charges applied even if they receive advanced life support treatment. Despite the so-called tiered system for reimbursement, Beach said SMCAS is required to respond to all its calls with at least one paramedic trained in advanced life support techniques. "And we have to pick up people regardless. We can't ask about their ability to pay,'' she said. "We have to absorb the difference.'' Should SMCAS end up losing Milton Township to Edwardsburg, Beach said it may be forced to use special assessment revenue for operations. If that turns out to be the case, another hike beyond next year's charge of $13 per household might be in order. "Past practice has been that we've used that special assessment just for capital improvements ... but there's nothing that says we can't use it for operations,'' Beach said.Staff writer Lou Mumford: lmumford@sbtinfo.com (269) 687-7002